Top U.S. Shows for African-Americans: 10/1 - 10/7/2018

NBC's 'Sunday Night Football' led the week ending Oct. 7 in African-American (AA) viewing. The game averaged a 16.4 rating in that demo, equating to 3.504 million AA viewers. FOX's 'Empire' impressively brought in that same rating, but was slightly lower in AA viewership (3.383 million). Lead-out 'Star,' had a 13.5 AA rating, equating to 2.816 million viewers of that demo. 

'Thursday Night Football,' also on FOX, ranked fourth on the week with an 11.6 rating and 2.322 million AA viewers. Finally, both of CBS's new Monday comedies, 'The Neighborhood' and 'Happy Together' made the top 10 this week. 'Neighborhood' averaged a 6.9 rating, while 'Happy' notched a 5.6. In viewers, those two ratings equate to 1.351 million and 1.107 million AA viewers respectively. 

Source: Nielsen Media Research  

Top U.S. Shows for African-Americans: 7/30 - 8/5/2018

FOX's 'The Four' topped a slow week among African-American viewing with a 7.2 rating and 1.53 million AA viewers. 'NFL Preseason Football' took second on the week with 1.42 million viewers, while NBC's 'America's Got Talent' took fourth with a little over 1 million total viewers (1.003M). 'World of Dance' with its 836,000 also made the list, along with a rerun of CBS's 'NCIS: New Orleans' (723,000).

Top U.S. Shows for African-Americans: 7/23 - 7/29/2018

NBC's 'America's Got Talent' led the week in African-American viewing, notching a 4.7 rating in that demographic with 1.004 million AA viewers. 'AGT's' lead-out, 'World of Dance' ranked second on the week with a 4.6 rating and 934,000 viewers, while ABC's '$100,000 Pyramid' took third with a 4.3 rating and 765,000. CBS's '60 Minutes' just sneaked into the top 10, averaging a 3.3 rating with 615,000 AA viewers. 

Top U.S. Shows for African-Americans: 1/22 - 1/28/2018

CBS's coverage of 'The Grammy Awards' topped the week ending January 28, 2018 in African-American viewing, hitting a 17.4 rating (corresponding to 3.9 million AA viewers). The 'Grammy's Red Carpet' had a 5.4 rating with 1.12 million viewers. On the scripted side, ABC put four shows into the top 10 this week, led by 'Scandal' which had an 8.1 with 1.49 million. Following 'Scandal' was a 6.9 rating for 'How to Get Away with Murder' (1.34 million), a 6.2 for 'The Good Doctor' (1.18 million), and a 6.2 for 'Grey's Anatomy' (1.13 million). 

Top U.S. Shows for African-Americans: 1/15 - 1/21/2018

FOX's coverage of the NFC Championship game dominated the week among African-American viewing, scoring a huge 23.4 rating in that demographic, corresponding to about 5.46 million viewers. The postgame had a 15.0 rating (3.39 million viewers), and drama series 'The Resident,' which aired immediately after the game, scored an 8.2 (1.71 million). Outside of Sunday, ABC's entire Thursday night lineup made the top 10 this week, led by an 8.3 rating for 'Scandal' (1.57 million), then a 7.3 for 'How to Get Away with Murder' (1.34 million), and a 6.7 for 'Grey's Anatomy' (1.29 million). 

Top U.S. Shows for African-Americans: 1/8 - 1/14/2018

FOX's 'NFC Divisional Round' post game on Sunday ranked the highest in African-American viewing for the week ending January 14th in primetime. It had a 16.0 rating in that demographic, equating to 3.517 million viewers. CBS's Saturday 'AFC Divisional Game' had a 15.3 AA rating with 3.42 million viewers, about 12.8% of its 26.69 million total. 

Also on FOX, both 'The Simpsons' and 'The Four' did well in the African-American demo, ranking third and fourth respectively on the week. 'The Simpsons' had a 7.1 rating with 1.535 million AA viewers (19.1%), while 'The Four' had a 6.1 AA rating with 1.271 million viewers (38.6%). NBC's only spot on the list belonged to 'Chicago PD' which had a 5.4 rating and 1.094 million AA viewers (15.9%).

CBS dramas took the other five spots on the list: SWAT (1.138 million, 17.8%), 'NCIS Los Angeles' (1.118 million, 12.2%), 'Blue Bloods' (1.108 million, 10.9%), 'NCIS New Orleans' (1.062 million, 12.2%), and 'NCIS' (1.029 million, 7.2%). 

Source: Nielsen Media Research

Top U.S. Shows for African-Americans: 1/1 - 1/7/2018

NBC's Saturday 'NFL Playoff Game' notched a 16.1 African-American rating with 3.585 million viewers, approximately 15.7% of its 22.815 million total viewers. The post game of FOX's NFC Wildcard Game was second on the week with a 15.2 AA rating and 3.39 million viewers in that demographic.

Sunday's 'Golden Globe Awards' had a 9.1 AA rating with 1.886 million viewers, about 9.9% of its total audience (19.007 million). FOX's premiere of 'The Four' took the seventh spot on the week with a 6.2 rating and 1.286 million AA viewers (34.3%). 

Five scripted series made the top 10 this week, including FOX's premiere of '9-1-1' (1.599 million AA viewers, 23.4%), 'The Simpsons' (1.525 million, 22%), 'Blue Bloods' (1.168 million, 11.7%), 'NCIS' (1.167 million, 8.3%), and 'Hawaii Five-0' (1.11 million, 11.1%). 

Source: Nielsen Media Research

Top U.S. Shows for African-Americans: 12/25 - 12/31/2017

FOX's 'The OT' led a slow week on television with a 10.5 rating and 2.394 million African-American viewers, about 22.4% of its 10.499 million viewer total. Also in sports, the Christmas Day 'NBA Christmas Special' notched an 8.3 AA rating with 2.099 million viewers (42.1% of 4.984 million). 

New Years Eve specials took the third and fifth rankings on the week. Steve Harvey's FOX special scored a 7.0 AA rating with 1.507 million viewers (26% of 5.795 million). ABC's 'Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve' notched a 5.8 rating with 1.426 million AA viewers (9%). 

Also airing this week was the 'Kennedy Center Honors' (6.3 rating/1.223 million viewers) on CBS, 'The Wall' (3.9 rating/852,000) on NBC, and reruns of 'SWAT' (4.5 rating/884,000), 'NCIS' (3.9 rating/758,000), '60 Minutes' (4.7 rating/1.021 million), and 'Black-ish' (4.5 rating/1.007 million).

Source: Nielsen Media Research

Top U.S. Shows for African-Americans: 11/27 - 12/3/2017

NBC's 'Sunday Night Football' topped the week among African-American viewers, notching a 16.1 rating with 3.376 million viewers. That figure was approximately 17.1% of its 19.693 million total viewers. Also in sports, 'Thursday Night Football' (airing on NBC and NFL Network), had a 14.3 AA rating with 2.947 million viewers (18.9%).

On the scripted side, 'Empire' notched a 15.9 rating with 3.234 million AA viewers (64%), ranking second on the week. 'Star', which followed, ranked fourth on the week with a 12.1 rating and 2.422 million viewers (65.9%). NBC's 'This Is Us' took the tenth spot with a 7.2 rating and 1.35 million AA viewers (12.3%). 

On CBS, 'Bruno Mars 24K Magic' hit a 7.4 rating with 1.483 million AA viewers, about 27.2% of its 5.443 million total viewers.

Source: Nielsen Media Research

Top U.S. Shows for African-Americans: 11/20 - 11/26/2017

NBC's 'Sunday Night Football' topped the week among African-American viewers notching a 13.6 rating and 2.832 million AA viewers, approximately 14.9% of its total 18.954 million viewers. NBC's Thanksgiving 'Thursday Night Football' was second on the week with an 11.2 rating and 2.79 million AA viewers, 16.5% of its 16.905 million viewership total.

Outside of sports, CBS's '60 Minutes' ranked fifth on the week with a 7.2 rating and 1.429 million AA viewers, 11.7% of its total viewership (12.258M). ABC's Monday episode of 'The Good Doctor' ranked seventh on the week with a 6.0 rating and 1.192 million AA viewers, about 11.9% of its total (9.969M).

Reruns of 'The Big Bang Theory' on Thanksgiving Night and 'Empire' on Thanksgiving Eve took the eighth and ninth spots on the week. 'Big Bang' notched a 5.8 rating with 1.506 million AA viewers and 'Empire' scored the same 5.8 rating with 1.187 million AA viewers.

Source: Nielsen Media Research

Top U.S. Shows for African-Americans: 11/13 - 11/19/2017

FOX's 'Empire' again led the week among African-American viewers, averaging a 17.8 rating and 3.859 million viewers for the Nov. 15 episode. That figure represents 63.8% of its total 6.051 million viewers. 'Star' had a 11.9 rating with 2.513 million AA viewers, approximately 67.2% of its 3.741 million viewers. 

ABC's 'American Music Awards' ranked eighth on the list with a 7.3 rating and 1.603 million AA viewers, 17.5% of the total audience (9.109M). Thursday's 'Scandal' ranked just above the awards show with a 7.5 rating and 1.377 million AA viewers, 27.7% of its audience. Outside of sports, the only other airing to make the top 10 was CBS's '60 Minutes' which notched a 6.6 rating and 1.338 million AA viewers (11.7%). 

On the sports side, 'Sunday Night Football' had a 17.1 rating and 3.72 million AA viewers, ranking second on the week. 'Thursday Night Football' mustered a 10.7 rating with 2.142 million AA viewers. The former represented 17.7% of the audience, and the latter was 16.3%.

Source: Nielsen Media Research

Top U.S. Shows for African-Americans: 11/6 - 11/12/2017

The return of 'Empire' topped the week among African-Americans for the week ending November 12, 2017. The show notched a 17.6 AA rating, which approximates to 3.597 million AA viewers (66.6% of its 5.4 million viewers). 'Star,' which immediately followed 'Empire' had a 12.6 AA rating with 2.537 million AA viewers, 67.4% of its 3.761 million total viewers.

Other scripted originals that made the list this week include ABC's 'Scandal' and 'How to Get Away with Murder.' 'Scandal' had a 7.2 rating with 1.437 million AA viewers for its Nov. 9 episode, which equates to 28.7% of its 5.000 million total viewers, while 'Murder' mustered a 6.6 rating with 1.264 million AA viewers, about 34.1% of its total (3.708 million).

Among sports broadcasts, 'Sunday Night Football' topped the week among African-American viewers, scoring a 11.9 rating and 2.524 million viewers. 'Thursday Night Football' had a 9.7 rating and 1.879 million AA viewers. The former represented 14.4% of its total (17.51M) and the latter represented 14.3% of its total (13.101M). FOX's 'The OT' was fourth on the week with an 11.2 rating and 2.434 million AA viewers. 

Source: Nielsen Media Research

Top U.S. Shows for African-Americans: 10/30 - 11/5/2017

Another week without 'Empire', pushed 'Sunday Night Football' to the top of the ratings for African Americans (AA). 'Sunday Night Football' notched an 11.8 AA rating (2.445 million AA viewers) representing about 17% of its 14.36 million viewership total. Saturday Night Football between LSU and Alabama scored a 6.2 AA rating (1.316 million) representing 19.6% of its total 6.73 million viewers.

On the scripted side, ABC's 'Scandal' had 1.509 million AA viewers for its Nov. 2nd episode, about 30.9% of its total viewership (4.89M). On the same night, 'How to Get Away with Murder' had 1.277 million AA viewers which represents 35.8% of its 3.56 million total viewers. Finally, 'The Good Doctor' had 1.329 million AA viewers for its episode on Monday. That figure is 12.5% of its 10.6 million total viewers. 

Games 6 and 7 of the World Series on FOX, had 1.632 million and 1.991 million AA viewers respectively. The former figure was 7.3% (22.29M) and the latter was 7.1% (28.24M). Finally, CBS's '60 Minutes' brought in 1.821 million African-American viewers, approximately 12.1% of the 15.09 million total. 

Source: Nielsen Media Research

Top U.S. Shows for African-Americans: 10/23 - 10/29/2017

With no 'Empire' airing this week, the highest-rated airing among African-Americans (AA) belonged to NBC's 'Sunday Night Football' which averaged approximately 2.634 million AA viewers on Oct. 29th, accounting for 19% of its 13.862 million viewership total. 

CBS & NFL Network's 'Thursday Night Football' averaged 1.953 million AA viewers on Oct. 26th, accounting for 17.3% of its 11.363 million viewers. In other sports news, FOX's coverage of game 5 of the World Series had 1.584 million AA viewers, which was only about 8.3% of its total viewers (18.94M). 

On the scripted side, 'Scandal' had about 1.416 million AA viewers for its Oct. 26th broadcast, and 'How to Get Away with Murder' had about 1.204 million AA viewers for its episode on that same day. The figure for 'Scandal' represents 29% of its total viewership (4.875M), and the figure for 'Murder' represents 33.8% of its total (3.562M).

Source: Nielsen Media Research

Top U.S. Shows for African-Americans: 10/16 - 10/22/2017

FOX's 'Empire' again led the week in total African-American viewers, averaging 3.611 million for its Oct. 18th episode. This accounted for 64% of its total audience (5.646 million). 'Star,' which immediately follows it, had approximately 2.822 million AA viewers; which was 67% of its total 4.217 million viewers. 

Also on the scripted side was ABC's 'Scandal' and 'The Good Doctor.' The Oct. 19th episode of 'Scandal' attracted 1.334 million AA viewers, 28% of its audience (4.704 million). 'The Good Doctor' averaged 1.291 million AA viewers which was 12% of its 10.595 million. On CBS, '60 Minutes' had 1.978 million AA viewers for the Oct. 22 telecast, 14% of its total.

On the sports side, 'Sunday Night Football' beat out 'Thursday Night Football' by over 1 million AA viewers. 'Sunday' averaged about 3.387 million, while 'Thursday' had 2.379 million. The former represented 18% and the latter 17% of its audience.

Source: Nielsen Media Research

Top U.S. Shows for African-Americans: Week of 10/9 -10/15/2017

FOX's 'Empire' and Star' both topped the week with African-American viewers. 'Empire' brought in 3.862 million AA viewers for its October 11th telecast, representing about 62% of its total 5.931 million viewers. Following 'Empire,' 'Star' had about 3.043 million AA viewers, representing about 67% of its total 4.513 million viewers. The only other scripted series to make the top 10 this week was ABC's 'Scandal' which had 1.497 million AA viewers - about 30% of its 4.995 million viewer total.

In Sports, both NBC's 'Sunday Night Football' and CBS's 'Thursday Night Football' again made the list this week. Both were practically even, with 'Sunday' narrowly edging out 'Thursday' in total AA viewers, 2.967 million to 2.913 million. The figure for 'Thursday Night' represented 20% of its total audience (14.585M), while the figure for 'Sunday Night' represented 18% (16.158M). 

'60 Minutes' had 1.796 million viewers for its Oct. 15th telecast, 13% of its audience.

Source: Nielsen Media Research

Top U.S. Shows for African-Americans: Week of 10/2 - 10/8/2017

FOX's 'Empire' led the week ending October 8th among African-American viewers with 3.88 million total African-American viewers. That is 66% of the show's total 5.89 million total viewers Wednesday. 'Star', which airs immediately after it was second on the week with 3.2 million AA viewers, 70% of it's 4.56 million viewer total. 

Other non-sports shows which made the Top 10 include ABC's 'Scandal' and 'Blackish'. 'Scandal' brought in 1.68 million AA viewers, 30% of it's 5.52 million total, and 'Blackish' had 1.58 million AA viewers, which was 33% of its 4.71 million total. 

Both primetime broadcast NFL games made the top 10 for the week. NBC's 'Sunday Night Football' had 2.94 million AA viewers, good for 18% of its 16.73M total. Finally, CBS's 'Thursday Night Football' saw 2.67 million AA viewers out of its 15.43M total (17%). 

Source: Nielsen Media Research

Top 50 Shows for African Americans for the Week Ending April 30, 2017

On the broadcast side, FOX's 'Empire' led the week with 4,376,000 total African-American (AA) viewers for its episode. This figure represents 69% of the show's total audience for that day (6,313,000). 'Scandal' brought in 1,606,000 AA viewers for its April 27th broadcast, representing 31% of its total viewership (5,193,000). NBC's 'Shots Fired' did 1,705,000 AA viewers, a solid 51% of its 3,326,000 viewers for that day. Other broadcast shows of note include: 'Grey's Anatomy' which did 1,101,000 AA viewers (16%), 'The Catch' which had 796,000 AA viewers (27%), 'Rosewood' which did 986,000 for its season finale (33%), and 'Black-ish' which had 798,000 (19%). 

On cable, VH1's 'Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta' notched 2,450,000 African-American viewers for its April 24th episode, good for 84% of its total audience (2,920,000). 'Basketball Wives' was at a slightly higher 87% with 1,798,000 AA viewers out of a 2,065,000 total. On OWN, 'If Loving You is Wrong' had 1,722,000 AA viewers, a massive 90% of its 1,921,000 total. Also on OWN, was 'Greenleaf', which notched 712,000 AA viewers out of 1,351,000 - a much lower 53%. Finally, 'Iyanla, Fix My Life' had 656,000 AA viewers out of its total 761,000 audience - 86%.

African-American and Hispanic Nielsen Ratings: Week Ending March 6, 2016

Select Ratings from Original telecasts for week ending March 6, 2015:

NOTE: I only received the data for the top 10 shows based on African-American household rating. I did not get any Hispanic data.

FOX's ROSEWOOD led the week in percentage of black viewers, with almost 43% of its audience in that demographic (1.5 million). ABC's HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER led in total black viewers with 1.64 million, accounting for about 36% of its total audience. The brand new series THE FAMILY which aired in place of SCANDAL, pulled in 1.36 million African-American viewers (24%), and the long running GREY'S ANATOMY had 1.37m, or about 18% of its viewing audience. Finally, CBS's NCIS had over 1.28 million African-American viewers, but because of its huge overall audience size, it only equated to about 8%.

African-American and Hispanic Nielsen Ratings: Week Ending December 6, 2015

Select Ratings from Original telecasts for week ending December 6, 2015:

NEW ON THIS POST: The right-most column of the table now lists the percentage of the total audience that was in each demographic group.

I will only be posting race data periodically, and it took me a while to receive the data for the week ending December 6, 2015, but nevertheless, here it is. Again, I never receive full Hispanic data, so the Top 10 (+1 bonus) shows will have to suffice.

EMPIRE, SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL, THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL, THE VOICE, CHICAGO FIRE,  are the only shows that are on both lists. EMPIRE led the scripted series' in both demographics, with 1.23m Hispanic viewers (13%), and a whopping 8.19m African-American viewers (69%). In percentages, BEING MARY JANE, on BET, led in the AA demographic with 1.26m AA viewers which represented 90% of its total viewers. SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL, on NBC, led in Hispanic viewing with 1.54m viewers (8%), and was third among African-Americans, with 3.27m (17%). CHICAGO FIRE had 942,000 AA viewers (11%), and 606,000 Hispanic viewers (7%), and CHICAGO MED had 686,000 Hispanic viewers  (also 7%). 52% of the people who watched THE WIZ LIVE!, on NBC, were African-American (6.01m), but only 8% of the Voice's audience was in that demographic (959,000). On OWN, IF LOVING YOU IS WRONG pulled in 2.22m AA viewers (89%), and SWEETIE PIES had 589,000 (79%). A few other notables included 596,000 for INTO THE BADLANDS  (24%), 963,000 for QUANTICO (22%), and 877,000 for BLACKISH (16%). On the Hispanic side, 817,000 watched MODERN FAMILY (11%), and 707,000 watched THE MIDDLE (9%).